Promising Practices across Canada for Housing Women who are Older and Fleeing Abuse

Atira now operates 18 residential programs across the Greater Vancouver Area identifying and responding to the varied and unique needs of women who are vulnerable and marginalized. Atira opened Ama House in South Surrey, BC in 2004, Canada’s first specialized transition house for women who are older. In anticipation of Ama turning 10 and identifying the need for program evaluation, Atira discovered that Ama House was still the only specialized transition house in Canada serving the needs of women who are older. This surprising discovery prompted the Promising Practices across Canada for Housing Women who are Older and Fleeing Abuse project (Promising Practices), a three-year collaborative project that involved women from across our vast country.

Initially, the collaborative identified that while much has been written about violence against women and much about elder abuse, the abuse of women who are older is rarely examined. Understanding and supporting women who are older and fleeing violence is challenging work that demands knowledge of both women’s anti violence work and elder abuse. The network of women’s transition and safe houses and shelters holds great potential for adapting to meet the needs of women who are older; however, specific attention to their distinct needs, as identified by women who are older and by the women doing the work, is necessary.

Promising Practices explores women’s lives across race, class, gender, sexual orientation and ability as well as from all walks of life, from small towns to large cities and includes the voices of First Nations, Métis and Inuit women, women of colour and immigrant women. It challenges assumptions about women who are older and warns against stereotyping. It also reflects women’s lived experiences, identifying what practitioners and women who are older say they require to meet their unique needs and circumstances.